Driver injured when minivan flips, misses children on Worcester sidewalk

Friday

Jul 19, 2013 at 6:00 AM

By Steven H. Foskett Jr., TELEGRAM & GAZETTE

WORCESTER — A spectacular car accident unfolded over two city blocks Thursday afternoon in the Green Island neighborhood.

Witnesses said an elderly man driving a minivan just missed two children riding their bikes on the sidewalk around 5:30 p.m. on Perry Avenue. The driver had to be extricated from the vehicle after getting stuck when it landed on its side on Perry Avenue.

Firefighters used a mattress box spring to prop up the vehicle to get the man out. After several minutes, he was put on a stretcher and taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center — University Campus. He appeared conscious and was grasping at the arms of firefighters rolling him away.

Kenneth Menard was near 27 Perry Ave. when he saw the minivan down the street strike the side of a silver station wagon. Mr. Menard and several other witnesses said the van caught fire but continued moving, through the stop sign at Seymour Street. Mr. Menard said the van struck a white Dodge Dakota parked on the street before rolling onto its side.

Mr. Menard said he and a few friends ran to the van. He said the man, who other witnesses said lives near where the accident began, appeared awake, and other than scrapes and cuts, he did not appear seriously injured.

In front of 55 Perry Ave., Annette Maldonado and others stood in the street in front of her station wagon. The rear wheel was bent inward, and the entire side of the car was damaged. A stream of gasoline flowed from there down the street, nearly half the distance of the accident scene.

Ms. Maldonado said she was in her living room when she heard the initial crash. She went outside, saw the damage to her car, looked down the street, and saw the van flipping on its side. A girl riding her bike on the sidewalk in front of Ms. Maldonado's car said she also saw the whole thing.

Perry Avenue was shut down between Endicott Street and Seymour Street. The accident reconstruction team is investigating.